HR Payroll Administrator

King County•Seattle, WA

6d•Hybrid

About The Position

King County Metro Transit’s Employee Services Division is seeking a detail-oriented and equity-driven HR Payroll Administrator to ensure accuracy, integrity, and compliance of payroll processes supporting over 6000 employees across a vast and diverse range of job classifications for one of North America's largest and most innovative transit agencies. The HR Payroll Administrator is a new position where you will play a critical role in delivering timely, precise, and customer-centered payroll services for a large, complex workforce. You will interpret and apply labor contracts, analyze payroll and timekeeping data, resolve discrepancies, coordinate leave programs, support system enhancements, and develop procedures and training that strengthen consistency and operational excellence across the organization. This position offers a high level of responsibility, independence, and influence. Your work will directly impact employees’ experiences, operational efficiency, compliance practices, and Metro’s ongoing commitment to equity and social justice. By ensuring payroll processes are fair, transparent, and reliable, you will help sustain the foundation of trust that enables Metro Transit to deliver safe, equitable, and high-quality service to our community. This recruitment will be used to fill one (1) Term-Limited Temporary (TLT) or Special Duty Assignment (SDA) position expected to last through December 31, 2027, with the possibility of extension. Additionally, the selection process may be used to generate an eligibility pool for future Career Service, TLT, or SDA positions that may occur within this classification. The eligibility pool will be retained for 12 months from the date of posting and may be used at the discretion of the hiring authority. An additional HR Payroll Administrator position is anticipated in the near future. The HR Payroll Administrator is an Administrator II classification.

Requirements

Experience completing payroll processes, ensuring policy compliance, and applying regulatory requirements in a large scale complex payroll operation, public sector, and/or unionized environment.
Experience interpreting and applying labor and collective bargaining agreements for employees across diverse job classifications.
Working knowledge of Fair Standard Labor Act (FLSA) Law.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to identify issues, work with large datasets, troubleshoot and resolve data problems, and ensure accurate data entry and data integrity with meticulous attention to detail and sound judgment.
Experience using enterprise systems such as PeopleSoft and Oracle EBS to maintain and analyze HR, payroll, and financial data.
Technologically adept, with strong proficiency across the Microsoft Office Suite including intermediate-level expertise in Microsoft Excel.
Proven ability to manage a high-volume workload, prioritize tasks, and meet established deadlines while collaborating effectively with colleagues across various work groups.
Experience developing and improving administrative processes, documentation, and standard operating procedures.
Experience training others, mentoring, or providing system/process support to end users.
Proven ability to work both independently and as part of a team while demonstrating initiative, accountability, and attention to accuracy including in situations with incomplete information or operational ambiguity.
Experience building and maintaining strong working relationships with various individuals and groups from diverse backgrounds and roles.
Strong interpersonal skills, including maintaining confidentiality, navigating sensitive situations, and communicating with tact and diplomacy.
Experience providing high-quality customer-focused service in a professional setting.

Nice To Haves

Working knowledge of Metro Transit’s operations, policies, and procedures.
Payroll processing experience in a Department of King County.
Experience using PeopleSoft and Oracle EBS.

Responsibilities

Administer payroll operations in compliance with Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs), federal and state regulations, King County policies, and departmental procedures.
Process, audit, and maintain payroll records in PeopleSoft, including adjustments, benefit accruals, step progressions, work schedules, union dues, combo codes, and time reporting codes (TRCs).
Analyze payroll, timekeeping, leave, and financial data to identify discrepancies, ensure data integrity, resolve payroll issues, and maintain compliance with contractual and regulatory requirements.
Conduct audits of time reporting, overtime, leave usage, and personnel actions to ensure adherence with CBAs, payroll policies, and HR standards.
Monitor payroll components of employee leave programs (FMLA, KCFML, PFML, Paid Parental Leave (PPL), On-the-Job Injury (OJI), and others), coordinate reimbursements, track leave balances, notify HR of exhausted leave entitlements, and support Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliance.
Collaborate and coordinate with Metro Divisions, Employee Services workgroups, and others to resolve payroll discrepancies and issues, implement personnel actions, validate and audit data, run reports and ad hoc requests, and ensure accurate payroll processing.
Research, interpret, and apply complex CBAs, payroll regulations, and organizational policies to provide guidance to employees, supervisors, and management on payroll, leave, timekeeping, and cost accounting matters.
Develop, implement, and maintain payroll procedures, standard operating procedures (SOPs), desk manuals, training materials, frequently asked questions (FAQs), and documentation to improve consistency, knowledge sharing, and operational efficiency.
Train, mentor, and onboard payroll staff and PeopleSoft users including providing technical guidance on payroll processes, time reporting, and system functionality.
Actively participate and support continuous process improvement (LEAN) efforts.
Design, develop, and maintain payroll monitoring, tracking, and reporting systems, including leave compliance, reimbursement tracking, and payroll performance metrics.
Support payroll system enhancements by maintaining PeopleSoft configurations, developing queries, managing TRCs and combo codes, testing system upgrades, and validating configuration changes.
Plan, coordinate, and implement payroll-related projects, including Employee Self Time Entry implementation, new CBA provisions, process improvements, compliance reviews, and resolution of systemic payroll issues.
Maintain payroll and personnel records in accordance with federal and state records retention requirements, including document organization, cataloging, inventory management, and Content Manager administration.
Communicate proactively with Metro Divisions to obtain information, resolve data issues, and ensure payroll deadlines are consistently met.
Other duties as assigned.